«There is only a majority to beat the left in the EU. The League? It can be added»- Corriere.it

Antonio Tajani, the next president of FI, why does he “veto” centre-right alliances in Europe on the Italian model, as Salvini fears?
“I’m not vetoing. I’m just being realistic.”

And what is reality?

“That there is only one majority in Europe to defeat the left and it is the one thanks to which I was elected president of the European Parliament in 2017. We really defeated the left then, not with words”.

Which majority?

«The one that arises from the alliance between European popular, liberals and conservatives. I know the dynamics of the Union and those of the European parties, given that I have been vice president of the EPP since 2002. There are no other possible majorities to beat the left. The construction site is open. We have to work.”

Salvini says that Macron cannot be preferred to his Identity and Democracy group, which serves a center-right on the Italian model.

«But in Europe we cannot decide on our own. Each Italian party is part of a political family that decides together. And, precisely, anyone who knows the European dynamics knows that the EPP would never ally with Alternative für Deutschland and Marine Le Pen. Reason? They are anti-European parties that have positions in their programs that are incompatible with ours. Politics is above all the sharing of values. Just read the programs of those extremist parties…».

In short, it’s not your choice, but the EPP’s?

“Politics is based on values. If these two forces hold opposite positions to ours, to FI’s tradition, I don’t see an alliance possible. Their votes cannot be spent precisely because their positions are anti-European. And you can’t govern the European institutions if you don’t believe in Europe».

But in this way the League, your ally, would be left out.

«There is no veto against the League. If you want to join, no one forbids you from doing so, indeed in any case I don’t see any risk or repercussions on the government. We are allies in Italy and we get along very well, but in Europe we don’t decide as independent party leaders, we are part of political families that have reference values”.

But does he feel like ruling out alliances with the PSE in the future?

«I have always worked, work and will work to create an alternative alliance to the left. I did it with my election in 2017 and I worked to prevent the socialist Timmermans from being elected president of the Commission, building together with others the agreement to elect the popular von der Leyen. It was our victory. It was I who asked Salvini, then allied with Conte, to have Timmermans’ consent from the Italian government revoked. He did.”

But you continue to have fronts in the EU: the Mes, the delayed Pnrr, the criticisms of the ECB.

«On the Mes we will postpone the vote for a few months, it is not a drama. In the meantime, issues such as the stability pact need to be examined, which cannot have the hyper-strict rules of the past, Spain is also asking for it. Then the banking union, the fiscal pact, because it is intolerable that there are tax havens in Europe that go against the principles of competition. These things need to be addressed together.”

And the delays on the works?

«All countries have some problems, but we will solve them quickly and without damage. On the other hand, the commission itself had given the go-ahead for some projects – I’m thinking of the stadiums in Florence and Venice – and then changed its mind. The world has changed in the last three years and flexibility is necessary, without excessive formalism. This also applies to the ECB’s decisions: I am against rate hikes and also against the announcement of forthcoming hikes. Inflation in Europe is exogenous, it is not from growth as in the USA. That’s how the weak are hit.”

You are very pro-European: will FI too, who will elect you as president on 15 July?

«Of course, our path was traced by Berlusconi, we will remain in that path. Not surprisingly, the president of the EPP, Weber, will also be at our NC. We are preparing a programmatic document, we will follow the statute in every step. And we will work head-on as we are already doing for the many events».

Pending the congress, will there be changes at the top?

«Let’s talk about politics, not offices, FI is a party that the polls and also the voters – Molise demonstrates – are rewarding, this counts. There will be a role for everyone and the ruling class seems to me to be very aware of the challenge we have before us, also supported by the Berlusconi family who are constantly close to us».

But it is already a battle between «Fascinians» and «Ronzullians»…


“No, because there are no battles. We are all committed to honoring the memory of Berlusconi. There will be local conferences to discuss. But I don’t believe in personalities, I believe in people. And I am convinced that those who believe in FI think like me».

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